Background
Thomas Thynne was born on 13 September 1734, the eldest son of Thomas, second Viscount Weymouth, by his wife, Louisa, the daughter of John Carteret, Earl Granville.
Thomas Thynne was born on 13 September 1734, the eldest son of Thomas, second Viscount Weymouth, by his wife, Louisa, the daughter of John Carteret, Earl Granville.
Thynne was educated at St. Johns College, Cambridge, and then went to the Continent. He succeeded to the title of third Viscount Weymouth in 1751, after which he embarked on a life of dissipation. During this period, he also employed Lancelot Brown (Capability Brown) to redesign the gardens at Longleat.
Weymouth’s early political career was uneven. He fdled a number of royal household posts, and in 1765 briefly served as viceroy of Ireland, but never set foot on Irish soil. He quickly aligned himself with the political groups emerging around the fourth Duke of Bedford at this time, gaining a political advantage from these connections when the Bedford faction made it a condition of its support for the ministry of the Duke of Grafton, who effectively shared power with William Pitt (the Earl of Chatham), that Weymouth should be made one of the two secretaries of state. As a result he became secretary of state for the Northern Department (the post of foreign secretary, after 1782) in January 1768. In this office, Weymouth declared an interest in maintaining British naval power in the Mediterranean. Under the personal direction of George III, he also advocated harsh measures in dealing with the Wilkes riots, which occurred in 1768 and 1769 in the London area as a result of John Wilkes’s continued challenge to the government’s suppression of the press and Wilkes’s own attempt to get into Parliament.
On the resignation of Shelburne, in October 1768, Weymouth was transferred to the post of secretary of state for the Southern Department (the post of home secretary, after 1782), where he remained until December 1779. Weymouth resigned, possibly as a re-sult of pressure from the Earl of Hillsborough, who was secretary of state for the American colonies at that time. In the event, Spain recognized Britain’s claim to the Falklands in 1771.
While out of office Weymouth did not join the opposition, but he did often pursue an independent line. He was considered for a number of posts, which he rejected. He eventually accepted the post of secretary of state for the Southern Department on 10 November 1775, and for the next four years generally conducted the government business in the House of Lords. In particгlar, he defended government action in the American colonies and opposed efforts to bring the American war to an end. He attacked a motion by the Earl of Chatham (William Pitt, the Elder) to put an end to the war, on 30 May 1777, as ill- timed. Matters got worse when he announced on 5 March 1782 that there was no treaty between France and the deputies of the American Congress, and then had to announce on 17 March that such a treaty did exist, and had to call for a vote of support for the king from Parliament.
In the summer of 1778, Weymouth became centrally involved in negotiations to replace the ministry of Lord North, who wished to retire from the premiership. He negotiated with the Pittite Duke of Grafton and the Whig Marquess of Rockingham to form a coalition. Yet, despite constant negotiations throughout 1778 and 1779, Weymouth was unable to secure the formation of a coalition government to replace Lord North’s ministry, and North continued as prime minister until 1782. In March 1779, while still serving as secretary of state for the Southern Department, Weymouth also became secretary of state for the north. However, dissatisfied with his efforts to form a coalition government, and opposed to the continuance of the war in America, he resigned as secretary of state for the Northern Department on 21 October 1779, and as secretary of state for the Southern Department a month later (on 25 November 1779). He never held senior office again, although he did hold some minor posts. In August 1793 he was appointed a member of the Board of Agriculture. He died on 19 November 1796, a largely forgotten political figure.
His main achievement being the signing of an agreement with the East India Company to restrict the size of its dividends. He was also involved in dealing with minor naval disputes with France and in disputing the ownership of the Falkland Islands with Spain. The Spanish authorities in Buenos Aires had driven British settlers out of Port Egmont, and Weymouth demanded their return, on threat of war, which led France to mediate.
He married Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck, the elder daughter of the second Duke of Portland and sister of the third Duke of Pordand (who later became prime minister), in May 1759.
